Age Doesn’t Matter: Canadian Judge Rules in Ice Fishing Case

A Canadian judge rules that a three-year-old girl can legally fish.

In Saskatchewan, a recent court ruling involving a fishing citation dispute lifted charges from a man who was given a ticket for illegal angling.

Last March, the man was ice fishing on Turtle Lake with his three year old daughter. They each had two lines in the water.

A conservation officer ticketed the man for having excessive lines in the water, citing that his daughter did not have the ability to carry out the tasks involved in fishing on her own. The father fought the ticket in a Spiritwood court, and won.

In Saskatchewan, Canadian Fisheries Act rules state that when ice fishing, no angler may have more than two lines in the water at one time.

Part of the evidence presented by the man was the Angler’s Guide for 2014 that clearly pictures an adult helping to bait a very young girl’s hook. The implication of the photo is that of a father and daughter. The message is that age doesn’t matter.

The judge in this case was only interested in whether or not the three year old girl was fishing legally. The judge looked at the rules and determined there is no minimum age that determines who is an angler. The judge wrote in his ruling:

Just because an individual is three years of age, and does not have the ability to do everything required when fishing, it does not mean that he or she cannot legally fish.

The judge’s ruling supports the premise that when it come to fishing, age doesn’t matter.